Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP’s Arnaud Tonus piloted the 2018 YZ450F to a top 10 finish in its debut in the MXGP World Championship last weekend, with the Swiss rider completing the event eighth overall.

Despite limited time aboard the new machine, Tonus and the Wilvo outfit elected to race the 2018 model at the Czech grand prix in an effort to further develop the bike, which ultimately saw positive steps forward in just the initial stages.

Tonus revealed the weekend’s primary focus was to improve every time he hit the track, and following changes to the suspension and gearing, he concluded the weekend extremely optimistic on the revamped motorcycle.

“It was a positive weekend,” said Tonus. “We came here with a completely new bike, so we came here expecting to develop it and improve every session and that is exactly what we did. We had to do some modifications to the suspension and I actually changed the gearing as well.

“When it’s a new bike you need to be ready to adapt and make changes, and that’s what we did. I feel like it was a really good weekend, we learned a lot and I am feeling extremely positive for the future with the 2018 YZ450F.”

The next stop on the world championship calendar is scheduled for 6 August, which will see the 2018 premier-class machine take on one of the most globally notorious sand circuits at Lommel in Belgium.